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by weshouldfondue



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Other, Youtuber AU, social anxiety ahoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-07 13:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16854409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weshouldfondue/pseuds/weshouldfondue
Summary: Mollymauk likes makeup, Caleb does ASMR, and this is an incredibly self indulgent YouTuber AU.





	1. First Meetings, or Everyone Needs a Competent Woman

It was night time in Los Angeles, specifically the night before one of the largest online video conventions. The largest gathering of content creators on the west coast, everyone seemed to be in attendance for the big weekend. From giant channels gathering millions of views every day to smaller channels for niche subjects with respective amounts of subscribers, the crowds were massive as people rushed through the area of the hotel and convention center to get an early peak at their favorites. 

Caleb Widogast was one of the smaller content creators, his videos falling along the lines of ASMR and monologuing. His subscriber count was smaller than some, but he had a consistent amount of followers. 

The general set up for his videos was as follows: Caleb would sit at his desk and read aloud. It would be older literature, of course, to avoid any potential copyright strikes against his channel. He would whisper sometimes, speak at a normal tone at others. He would rub the pages between his fingers, flip through them before reading, tap his neatly filed fingernails against the worn leather covers.

It was simple, but the money the ad revenue brought in was enough to go toward his fair share of rent and his student loans while maintaining his day job as a teacher at a local community college. 

This hobby lead Caleb here, to sunny LA, a distance from the ranch house he shared with Nott outside of Austin, Texas. 

The two stood in their fancy hotel room next door to the convention center, getting ready for the creator meetup organized by their shared YouTube network, Gentleman’s Troupe. It was a recent development, Nott getting picked up for her explosive chemistry channel that packed in millions of views each week. However she refused to sign a single paper unless Caleb was brought in as well. Caleb didn’t expect it to work as his small account didn’t see even a quarter the amount of eyes Nott’s did, but whatever she said worked and the two were flying out to the convention the very next month. 

Caleb huffed, putting on the nice shiny loafers he bought the week before, the leather a bit tight on his wide feet. It wasn’t a black tie affair by any means, but Caleb wasn’t much for dressing up anyway. He was going as fancy as he could, with a nice forest green knit sweater vest, a brown button up beneath and dark brown pants. Nott, ever self conscious about her appearance and catching anyone’s attention in person, was in her usual jeans and t-shirt.

“How long must we stay at this party, exactly?” Caleb muttered, glaring at his too tight shoes.

“Not too long,” Nott said. She quietly padded across the floor and hefted herself up on the bed next to him. She patted his knee gently with her small green hand, to which he took with his own and held. “Just talk to a few sponsors, make nice with some of the other folks there. Then I’ll steal a bunch of horse divorce, we’ll come back here and gorge ourselves on those little shrimps and finger sandwiches. It’ll be fine!”

Caleb sighed and nodded, giving Nott a small smile. “Thank you for this, Nott. I’m bitching and moaning but you’ve done so much for me with this.”

Nott scoffed, shooting him a glare. “Nonsense, I’m helping you get what you deserve, just as you have with me. This social shit is hard on you, and I’m very proud of you for going to this.”

“All the same, thank you.” Caleb kissed her on the forehead quickly before standing, brushing out his pants and placing his “nerd glasses”,as Nott affectionately dubbed them, on. “And it won’t be so bad, I suppose. Jester will be there, ja?”

“Yes! She texted me and said she’s already up there, so let’s get a move on!” Nott jumps down off the bed before gathering the last of her things, a bag empty and ready for swiped finger sandwiches and her cellphone. Caleb did a final pat down for his phone and room key before they departed toward the top floor of the hotel where the party will be held.

In the elevator, Caleb took a deep breath as the doors closed and they ascended. His palms felt sweaty so he quickly wiped them on his pants. Nott gave him one more reassuring pat on the back of his thigh and they exchanged a quick smile before they reached the penthouse suite.

It was fancy, to describe it simply.

The suite was almost entirely open plan, sprawling across the entire top floor of the hotel. High glass walls let the setting sun in, those not entire glass panes a neutral white and tastefully decorated, and plush white carpet covered the floor. Quite a few people were already in attendance, littered about with glasses in hand and chatting happily over the light din of music playing.

They stepped out of the elevator and were quietly stopped by a large bronze Dragonborn, holding out one scaled hand, the other clutching a clipboard. “Names?” he said, surprisingly quiet for someone easily topping out at 7 feet. They gave them, and there was the small panic of being somewhere one shouldn’t, despite being where you should be, that anxiety loves to give before the Dragonborn man smiles and nods them through. “Have fun.”

The party was gradually filling up, some arriving via the stairs, many more popping up in the elevator. Caleb was introduced to many people, sponsors of the network and fellow content creators. Most politely nodded when he explained his channel to them, only one or two even familiar with what genre his videos were. Most flocked to Nott, the most popular of the two, and it wasn’t too long into the night when it began to wear on a bit too much. Caleb tapped Nott’s shoulder before he leaned in, whispering in her ear. 

“Someone mentioned that up the stairwell there’s a small public deck area, I’m going to go there for a little bit.”

Nott nodded sympathetically, patting him on the cheek. “I’ll be there soon.”

Caleb brushed the statement aside, “Nonsense. You are, ah, networking? Have fun, I’ll just read a bit on my phone.”

Caleb broke out of the small gathering that surrounded Nott, going toward the stairwell in question. He got a bottle of beer from the open bar first, before heading up. The sun had set a while ago, but the lights of the city below made night mean nothing.

The “deck area” was beautiful, encompassing the entire roof top of the hotel building, small shrubs dotting the large expanse where several benches and tables sat. The patio was protected by a border of glass, preventing people from accidentally plummeting the many stories down to the road below.

Several people were up here as well, small circles of friends gathered and chatting amicably. Caleb went for an empty corner, slumping down and pulling his android out of his pocket. The overstimulation of music, many people gathering and laughing around Nott, having to smile and nod and shake hands, drifted away as he sat back and enjoyed his beer and Agatha Christie.

\---

Mollymauk Tealeaf loved people. He loved parties, he loved being the center of attention, and he especially loved conventions. Meeting fans, getting to take tons of photos, being able to see his friends? The absolute best.

For once, however, Mollymauk found himself terribly nervous to meet new people. 

He stood in front of the mirror in his hotel room, checking his immaculate gold eyeliner for the fourth time, anxiously adjusting the equally golden plunge crop top. He was dressed to impress, his theme for the night being “gold” and “glam”. 

Gold talon caps for his long claws, hoops and dangling jewels hanging from his hair and horns. He wore crisp white skinny jeans, heels, and his new favorite item he purchased for a Wish Haul video, a golden chain top with an entirely open back, exposing his massive tattoo that covered him from neck to the base of his tail. He looked drop dead gorgeous and he knew it.

But Mollymauk Tealeaf was _terribly_ nervous.

Prior to joining up with Gentleman’s Troupe, Molly struck it out alone aside from Yasha. He did every single piece of marketing, production, editing on his own. It seemed easy from the outside, running a fashion and makeup blog. Buy cute stuff, review it- that’s it, right? But a surprising amount of hard work went into making the videos each week. As Molly’s following continued to amass, it became challenging to fit everything into his schedule. Taking this deal with a network could help him tremendously, he could spend so much more time making the actual videos that people enjoyed. He really didn’t want to fuck this up.

A soft knock on the door interrupted his panic spiral, so Molly huffed into the mirror a final time, giving his hair one more artful tousle before opening it to Yasha, a small warm smile on her face. She was dressed in a simple ensemble of black jeans, a white blouse and a dinner jacket. The look on his face must have betrayed his inner turmoil as when he walked forward, she already had her arms out and waiting.

“What would I do without you?” Molly mumbled into her shoulder, slumping against her when she tangled her long fingers into his purple hair. 

“Hmmm. Die, probably,” she said simply, playing with a little gold chain looped through his left horn. 

“Correct,” he sighed, squeezing her gently before pulling away.

“Why are you so nervous?”

Molly shrugged and lead them into his room as he headed back to the mirror, making sure he hadn’t smudged his lips against Yasha’s shoulder. “This is important.”

Yasha walked up behind him, wrapping a strong arm around his shoulders. “It is,” she agreed, shifting his weight against her. “But you’ll charm them, just like you charm everyone. We haven’t met someone who didn’t like you yet.”

Molly laughed quietly, “I have several pages of comments that say otherwise, darling.”

“They don’t matter,” she said in a firm tone.

Molly hummed softly, standing straight and physically shaking the nerves off him. “Right. Of course they don’t, we’ll knock them off their feet as always.”

Yasha smiled again in the mirror as Molly took the two of them in, so startlingly different but meant to be at each other’s side. 

\---

Molly was four drinks into the party before he realized he may have wanted to eat beforehand. He already met the important sponsors of the night, charming them just as Yasha said. Molly felt silly with the amount of nerves he held earlier until the most important person of the night came up to him, the president of the network and the Gentleman himself, followed by his assistant Cree. Molly had no intentions of getting drunk during this party, but the odd familiar look in Cree’s eyes as he shook her fur covered hand made him panic and dash to the open bar as soon as their conversation ended. He happily got the pinkest and strongest cocktail they served. 

There he met Caduceus, the massive pastel siege tower of a man who requested hot water from the barman for the small sachet of purple flower tea he pulled out of his pocket. It was a slightly confusing interaction, as when Molly asked the type of tea he was drinking, he smiled mysteriously and only replied, “Don’t you know?”

Molly was familiar with him, as he spent quite a few hours pouring over his numerous long winded videos which mixed taxidermy and gardening. He even got his business card, fully intending to get a cat skull planter from his online shop for the small fairy castle cactus he received from Yasha for his last ‘birthday’ (really, it was the anniversary of the day he awoke in the hospital for the first time. But isn’t that what all birthdays are?).

It wasn’t until he walked off from the man three drinks later, a fourth already halfway gone in his fist, that he realized he’d lost Yasha in the steadily growing crowd. Not an entirely new situation as Yasha tended to wander, especially in crowded places.

As he peered over heads looking for her, his vision a tad swimmy from the strong drinks, he felt a soft and clawed hand lightly touch his forearm and turned to find the tabaxi assistant of the Gentleman Molly initially ran from. “Hello,” she said, golden eyes peering deeply into his. “Is everything alright? You seem distressed, _Mollymauk_.”

Molly wasn’t very fond of the way she said his name, so he gently untangled himself from her and stepped back a pace. “Yeah, I... just seem to have lost my friend. Have you seen her?”

“Hmmm,” the woman purred, eyes never moving from his. “No, I can’t say I have. Have you checked the roof?”

“N-no? I should- go do that. Bye?” Molly wasn’t proud of that escape, but wow she gave him the creeps. He quickly shouldered through the crowd toward the stairs, feeling her eyes on his back the entire way there. 

He stumbled up the stairs, breaking out quickly into the night air and sighing in relief. It was fairly quiet, most people staying inside as the air was unusually cooler tonight. 

Including Yasha, as it appeared she was nowhere to be found up here. He was about to turn around and head back to the main party, but the thought of Cree being there sent an odd shiver up his spine. He instead set his sights on the emptiest corner of the roof top patio. The only person there is a handsome red haired man, beer bottle in one hand and phone in the other. Knowing a distraction when he sees one, Molly walked over and took a seat.

The man startled, looking up from his phone. “Ah- hello?”

Molly put on his most charming grin and leaned forward, tail swishing languidly behind him. “Hello, darling. Avoiding the madness downstairs?”

The other man said nothing, staring mouth nearly agape at Mollymauk. It went on for an almost uncomfortable amount before he snapped out of it and stuttered, a deep red flush dusting his freckled cheeks and Molly found himself instantly charmed by this guy. He was scruffy, and gave off huge nerdy professor vibes. He was also outrageously pretty. 

“J-ja! Yes. It’s not exactly my preferred setting,” he said nervously, setting his phone down before fiddling with the label on his beer bottle.

Molly squinted, the voice and accent sounding oddly familiar. He held out a hand, “I’m Mollymauk. My friends call me Molly.”

The other man took his hand and shook it lightly, “Oh, yes. I know who you are. I watch your tutorials quite a bit, they’re... very interesting. My name is Caleb-”

Molly quickly took his other hand and grabbed the man’s, turning it over to see the full back and- sure enough, there was a large burn scar on the back of his right hand. “Widogast ASMR!” 

Caleb seemed even more shocked, choking slightly as his fingers curl in a bit to unconsciously hold Molly’s. “Yes?”

Molly’s tail swished excitedly as he clutched at the man’s hand, grinning like a mad man and talking a mile a minute. “I would know these hands anywhere! I love your videos, they help me relax after physical therapy! Holy shit, it’s so fantastic to meet you. I thought your voice sounded familiar? I- wait,” he stopped abruptly, squinting as he rewinded the conversation in his head. “Did you say you watch my videos?”

That lovely blush was back as Caleb ducked his head down, “Ja, I do. They’re… relaxing. Interesting. I have no use for cosmetics or-or, fashion, obviously,” he chuckled and gestured down to his sweater and khakis.

Molly stared at him, horribly, terribly, absolutely charmed and instantaneously crushing on this man even more than he had been watching his videos.

“Well, as I said before, it’s very nice to meet you,” Molly said.

“I. Yes. Me too? Um,” Caleb looked down at their joined hands, both of them at once seeming to realize they’d held on for the entire conversation. They both jolted apart, embarrassed. Caleb covered it with a cough while Molly downed the rest of his cocktail. 

Caleb frowned for a moment before looking at Molly and said, “Wait- did you say you watch my videos as well?”

Molly goes to respond, but is interrupted by the sound of Caleb’s name and the two turned to see a short goblin woman waving her hand toward him at the door to the stairs. 

“Caleb! I have the sandwiches! We can go now!”

Caleb laughed breathlessly and Molly looked back to him, extremely disappointed. “Well, I suppose you’ve gotta get going, hm?”

The other man quickly drank the rest of his beer before he stood and slipped his phone into his front pocket. “Unfortunately, yes. It is getting a bit late.”

“True, true. I should be finding my friend, I lost her earlier in the crowd.”

Caleb smiled nervously and scratched at the back of his head. “I hope you find her?”

“Oh, she’ll turn up. She always does.” Molly stood and stretched, watching from the corner of his eye as Caleb eyed his exposed stomach and blushed terribly and- really, it was too cute. “I hope to run into you again tomorrow, Mr. Caleb?”

Caleb nodded, holding his hand out to shake, so Molly took it gently, holding it lightly and brushing his thumb across his knuckles and was rewarded with that lovely blush and a light squeak. 

“I ah, I hope so as well Mr. Mollymauk. It’s been a pleasure.”

“Indeed,” Molly smirked and watched as Caleb walked to his friend, winking when he turned back to look at him.

Molly quickly dialed Yasha’s number, sighing dramatically when she answered on the fifth ring. 

“Yasha, where are you, I’m absolutely _fucked_.”


	2. To be fair, it is a very nice jacket.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly has a really cool jacket and Caleb eats a lot of General Tso's chicken.

Caleb thwumped into his too-soft hotel bed that night, stomach full of purse sandwiches and butterflies as he tried desperately not to think about how soft Mollymauk’s hands felt clenched over his own. He kicked his too tight shoes off, curling up to the cool pillow under his head as he listened to Nott putter around the room getting ready for the night. 

“Who was the purple guy?”

Caleb cursed to himself as he felt his face heat up. 

When Caleb mentioned he’d watched Mollymauk’s videos, it definitely wasn’t a lie. What he neglected to mention was how _often_. He wasn’t sure what it was- the soft lilt of Mollymauk’s accent, the way his red eyes seemed to glow when he got truly excited about a new makeup pallet, the way he laughed as he put on some silly too-small dress he paid a dollar for on Wish… Caleb watched him _a lot._ To the point where it might be a problem.

To finally meet Molly in the flesh? Caleb froze, he choked, and then for Molly to say he watched _Caleb’s_ videos? 

Caleb wanted to sink into the floor thinking about how he stuttered over his words, he had so much he wanted to say to him. To thank him for being the best distraction when his mental health plummeted. Instead he pulled a Classic Widogast and fucked it up. 

Caleb cleared his throat, “Another person in the network. They were… nice,” he said lamely.

“That’s… nice? They were very shiny.”

“They were,” Caleb murmured and thought of the way the jewelry in his horns glittered, the press of body-warm rings against his hands. The way Molly grinned in excitement when he realized who he was, the way he actually smiled at his ghoulish looking scar instead of looking at it in disgust...

Caleb thought of the extremely low chance he had of meeting him again.

He buried his face into his pillow and fell asleep still dressed.

The next day was hectic, Nott dashing out the door early in the AM followed by Caleb at a more sedate pace. Between meetups, panels, and the crowds of thousands packed in one building, the rooftop meeting with Mollymauk flew from Caleb’s mind. 

At 5 pm Caleb finally found a way to escape and quickly dashed across the street to the hotel and took the elevator up to his floor, enjoying the blessed silence for the first time since waking up. He walked to his room and slid the keycard in, but instead of a green light and the sound of the door unlocking a small red light flashed and nothing happened.

“ _Scheiße_ ,” Caleb mumbled, sliding it a dozen more times and getting the same result. Tired and overwhelmed, he sat on his ass against the door and considered just laying on the floor and decaying away instead of going through the hassle of fighting the crowds of people to get a new key or finding Nott to use hers.

It was during this internal debate that Caleb missed the sound of footsteps walking toward him, until he heard the soft sound of someone clearing their throat above him. Caleb looked up and stared at two familiar red eyes peering down at him in concern and amusement.

“You alright, love?” said Mollymauk Tealeaf.

“Mollymauk,” Caleb said reverently, before flushing in embarrassment- an unfortunate habit he seemed to have picked up around this man. “Ah, ja, ja, I’m okay. My… key won’t work?” he said lamely, realizing this doesn’t explain why he’s slumped on the floor.

Molly’s brow crinkled and he smiled, one fang poking out over his maroon painted lips. “You might be able to get a new one from concierge?”

“Right, ja, that is true. It’s just… so quiet here. I really would rather not have to go back out to the crowd of people down in the lobby, and- oh you’re sitting down.”

Molly slid down the wall to sit next to him, his extremely warm side pressed against Caleb’s. “I understand,” Molly said simply.

Caleb’s brain was still resetting from the feeling of Molly against him and couldn’t do more than make an inquisitive noise.

“I like all of this,” Molly said, gesturing. “The crowds, the people. It’s fun for me. But after a bit it gets quite…”

“Overwhelming,” they said at once.

Caleb stared at Molly’s handsome face, and the late night angst over what he left unsaid last night comes back to him. “Um-”

“I have an idea. Would you like to go back upstairs? To the pretty little rooftop patio where we were last night? I’m sure there’s not a lot of people up there.”

“Would we be allowed?”

Molly shrugged, the jewelry in his horns tinkling delightfully.. “Hell if I know. Worst thing is they tell us to scram.”

Caleb can’t help but laugh, Molly’s smile growing. “Why the hell not,” Caleb found himself saying, surprised by his own spontaneity. 

Molly stood, knees popping, and held a hand out to Caleb. He took it without even thinking about it, not letting go until they reached the elevators.

\--

They weren’t told to scram, thankfully. 

The rooftop was completely deserted, most people likely out socializing rather than staying at the hotel to avoid it. They sat at the same table from the night prior, Molly sprawling out on his seat like he owned it.

Caleb sat across from him, breathing in the open air and enjoying the lack of dozens of people pressed around him and felt his body relax tenfold.

“See now, wasn’t this a fantastic idea, my dear?”

Caleb felt his heart jump at the endearment. “You’re a genius, Mollymauk,” he replied, deadpan.

“Of course I am! Thank you for realizing,” Molly grinned, white fangs glinting.

Caleb eyed them before dropping his gaze quickly down to his hands, fidgeting with his sleeves. The silence is slightly awkward, and Caleb realized he’s come up here with this man he doesn’t know outside from the fifteen to thirty minute videos he sees three times a week. 

“Last night,” Caleb said, forcing himself to look up into Molly’s eyes. “Last night I didn’t get a chance to say something to you, ah, about your videos.”

“Oh?” Molly said, leaning in curiously. He sat his elbows on the table separating them, his jacket making a crinkling noise against the wood.

And what a fantastic jacket it was, covered in the sequins that were reversible, changing color depending on what direction you swiped them in. Molly’s was black, changing to what looked like an oil slick color where his long fingers seemed to have pressed. Caleb felt his own fingers twitch toward it before clenching them forcefully. He wasn’t about to grope at this man’s jacket when he barely knew him!

“Yes. I don’t… this isn’t meant to be weird or ah, or a thing. I just wanted you to know that your videos have been a comfort to me.”

Molly’s eyes widened, “They have?”

“Mmhmm,” Caleb wished he had something to fidget with to distract himself from how intense Mollymauk’s gaze felt on him. “It has been a hard year for me, until recently. A hard few years, really,” his thoughts drifted to his parents before he quickly shut that line of thought down,”Your videos are a nice distraction from it. As I said last night I’m not really a, uh, fashionista?”

Molly giggled quietly, looking at him with some emotion Caleb couldn’t identify.

“I’m nothing like that but- I don’t really watch them for that,” Caleb swallowed.

Mollymauk tilted his head, smile still in place. “Why do you watch them, Mister Caleb?”

“You,” he blurted out, face heating intensely. Molly’s face took on a darker tint as his eyes widened a fraction. “I watch them for you? Your voice is… nice?” he said, wincing at his lack of eloquence in this. "I, ah, have some issues dealing with being... overstimulated? And I get very stressed but your videos they... help. Your voice helps," he finished lamely.

The silence is horrific and Caleb considered running off the roof when Mollymauk opened his mouth to reply.

“First, darling. Thank you? Like, holy shit, thank you?” Caleb looked up at him, unaware he even ducked his face down. Molly was blinking quickly, eyes looking slightly wet.

“And, wow, usually I make people buy me a drink before I go this deep in feelings, so consider yourself very lucky, but your videos help me too.”

Molly, always seeming to be moving in some way, held his chin in his hand while his tail coiled and uncoiled behind him. 

“I don’t understand,” Caleb muttered.

Molly sighed loudly, scratching behind a horn. “So I had an accident a few years ago, yeah? And I won’t go deep into the nitty gritty, that’s like Level 5 backstory and you’re still on the tutorial, but I was stuck in a hospital bed for… let’s say awhile.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Caleb.

“Me too,” Molly frowned, and Caleb found he hated to see that expression on his face.  
“But I had so much time on my hands suddenly. So, so so so much time. So I poked around on YouTube and found you!”

“Me?”

“Well,” Molly winked, “not just you. But you’ve always been one of my favorites.” Molly lifted his hands and gestured to his head, “I was a little scrambled? After the accident. And your videos would help make that go away. They’re so calming and relaxing and, well, I would have previously said they’re flawless but I now have a huge complaint.”

“A complaint?” asked Caleb.

“We only see chest down, we’ve been deprived of seeing the handsome host!”

Caleb stared Mollymauk down and knew that his face was beet red. “You’re fucking with me, this is a joke.”

“Only a little,” Molly smiled, leaning in. “But it’s still true, and absolutely criminal.”

“I’m… sorry?” Caleb floundered, never sure how to receive compliments.

“Forgiven,” said Molly.

The conversation changed to a lighter tone after that, and Caleb learned a surprising amount about Mollymauk. Like how he hailed from Seattle, and absolutely fucking hated it.

“It’s so expensive. And it rains. _So fucking much_ ,” Molly groaned, somehow ending up sat on the table, tail swishing dangerously close to Caleb’s carefully clenched fingers. “I wish I lived here, where whenever it rains it trends on Twitter.”

“I’m living in Austin currently, so as someone with tornadoes I feel like I have more to complain about here.” 

Caleb is rewarded with a soft _whap_ of a tail to the forehead and in his surprised laughter he missed the smitten look Molly gave him.

The sun began it’s set, and Molly was once again pressed to Caleb’s side, terribly warm and smelling of cigarettes and flowery perfume. 

It being mid-March, Caleb felt the chill of night begin and shivered, trying to subtly lean against Mollymauk’s furnace-like warmth.

“Cold, darling?”  
“Ah…”

Molly stood and before Caleb could say anything, he’d taken his coat off and spun it onto Caleb’s shoulders, the warmth instantly seeping into his shoulders.

“Won’t you be cold?” asked Caleb.

Molly sat back down, kicking his feet up on the seat opposite to him and grinned in a way becoming familiar to Caleb, “Nah, I’m used to it being a bit chilly. You soft Texas boys need all the help you can get.”

Caleb snorted and gripped at the coat, secretly delighted to be able to prod at the sequins that had been enticing him all evening. “It gets decently cold this time of year in Austin. Winter and spring in Germany can be far worse.”

Molly hummed quietly, “Well, if I’m ever in Berlin I’ll have to see.”

“It’s worth the trip,” Caleb said, thinking on his childhood.

“I’m finding lately that no matter where I go, I find something worth the trip,” Molly replied, poking him lightly on the arm with his spade-tipped tail.

Before Caleb could reply, his phone buzzed with a call. “Ah- sorry, one moment,” he said, flustered. He pressed the phone to his ear- “ _Hallo_?”

“Caleb? Where are you?” Nott said on the other end, concern heavy in her voice.

“Ah- _Es tut mir leid_ , Nott. I’ve been talking with a friend. Are you at our room?”

“Yes, yes, I’m there now. You don’t have to come back, I was just worried that you didn’t respond to my texts!” 

Caleb quickly removed the phone from his face and seeing the number of push notifications he winced.

“I’ll be there in a moment. Sorry again, Nott.”

“Oh, Caleb. You don’t have to apologize to me. I’m glad you’re being sociable, I was just a bit worried. Does Chinese sound good for dinner?”

“Sounds fantastic.”

“Good! I’ll see you soon.”  
Caleb hung up, guilt churning in his stomach as he turned to Mollymauk.

“Night over for us, darling?”

Caleb frowned, “Ja, I apologize for cutting it so short. I…”

Molly’s hand took Caleb’s and he felt the air leave his lungs at the feeling of his soft skin pressing down onto his. “It’s perfectly okay, we’ve been up here for awhile. My friend is probably just as worried.” Caleb realized it was going on 9 o’clock and the two of them had been sat talking for nearly four hours.

They stood and made their way back down to their apparently shared floor. “Let me walk you to your door?” said Molly, much to Caleb’s quiet delight.

It felt like saying goodnight after a first date, or what he imagined that would be like as Caleb had never been on an official ‘date’ before.

“I hope to see you tomorrow? Ah- I know Sunday is usually when everyone leaves but-”

Molly interrupted him, taking his hands once more. “But you’ll see me tomorrow,” he finished soothingly, “I’m not leaving until Monday night, all the time in the world for more rooftop meetings,” he winked.

Caleb sighed in relief, surprised at how much that reassured him. “Same place tomorrow?” he said weakly.

“Same place tomorrow,” Mollymauk assured, before hesitating and giving Caleb another look he couldn't place.

“Mollymauk?”

The concentration on Molly’s face broke and he seemed to lean back, cheeks darkening slightly. “Same place tomorrow,” he repeated. “Have a good night, Mister Caleb.”

“The same to you, Mister Mollymauk.”

It wasn’t until Molly was halfway down the hallway when Caleb realized the weight from Molly’s coat was still pressed onto his shoulders.

“Ah- Molly!?”

Molly spun around, a hopeful look on his face. “Caleb?”

“Your jacket?”

Molly looked- disappointed? But the look was fleeting and disappeared into a smirk. “It’s insurance! You have to see me tomorrow to give it back!”

“O-okay?”

Molly shot him finger guns before twirling back around and heading toward the elevators, calling back one last “Good night!” before disappearing into an opening elevator.

Caleb clutched at the jacket and pretended he wasn’t smelling the collar.

\--

“I shot him finger guns, Yasha. Finger guns. How am I going to face him again I’m about to _die_.”

Mollymauk Tealeaf was slumped against the hotel bar where he thankfully found Yasha after running away from Caleb and his- _feelings_. 

“I bet you looked like a total fuckin’ wiener,” snorted Beauregard, Yasha’s not-girlfriend who ran a “yoga and self defense and other bullshit” channel.

“I did, I _did_ look like a total fuckin’ wiener,” Molly moaned, face smashed against the bar.

“Beau,” Yasha warned, shooting her a Look before turning to Molly and patting his back.”Molly, I’m sure they were charming and cute.”

“They were like the finger guns a dad gives to his kid before a peewee baseball game while calling him _champ_ , I’m actually about to die.”

Beauregard choked on her beer and Yasha sighed, rubbing his back a bit. “Don’t listen to her. You really like this guy, huh?”

Molly nodded as much as he could with his face smashed on a counter top. “He’s so annoyingly nice? And handsome. And he watches my videos and- it’s not _fair_ ,” he whined. “I’m blocking him. From existing. Reported, blocked, illegal, forbidden.”

Beauregard threw a cocktail napkin at him and he didn’t even have it in him to throw it back.

“You at least got his number, right?” Beau asked.

Molly groaned before sitting up, reaching into his pocket for his phone. “No, but I know what room he’s staying in. I-” he froze. _Oh fuck._ His phone wasn’t in his pocket. Because it was in his _other_ pocket. In his jacket. With Caleb.

“Molly?” Yasha asked, concerned.

“I left my phone in my pocket.”

“Okay?” Beau said.

“In my jacket pocket. With Caleb.”

Beau cackled as Molly smashed his face back down on the counter, Yasha rubbing his back again comfortingly.

\---

Caleb was sat in his hotel room shared with Nott, stuffing his face with General Tso’s chicken, the two of them surrounded by open white cartons and fortune cookie wrappers while they watched The Office on the small flat screen.

Caleb pretended the entire time that he wasn’t aware of the fact Nott’s eyes weren’t watching Jim and Pam’s wedding, but were honed in on the colorful jacket Caleb still wore. He was halfway through his container of fried rice when Nott finally cleared her throat and asked tentatively- “So what were you up to?”

Caleb stuffed a massive amount of rice in his mouth to think on it for a moment, chewing slowly and trying not to choke in his foolishness.

“I got caught up talking with a…” Caleb blanked, unsure of how to properly describe Molly. “Friend? And we lost track of the time. I apologize again for worrying you, _herzchen_.”

“You always worry me,” Nott snorted, shoveling down another mouthful of noodles. “What friend is this? Obviously you can hang out with whoever you want, I just wasn’t aware you knew anyone here outside of me and Jester?” 

“You know the makeup channel I watch sometimes?” 

Nott squinted at him, and Caleb felt suddenly like a very small bug under a terrifyingly large magnifying glass. “Mollymauk? The tiefling with the,” she made a wide gesture with her hands and a stray noodle flung from her chopsticks. “Everything?”

Caleb chuckled, “Yes, the tiefling with the Everything. He was the one I was talking to yesterday night as well.” 

Nott leaned back, patting her stuffed belly and spreading out on the bed. “I thought that might have been him. But I also had six shots at that point and could have thought he was King Dwendal.”

Caleb laughed and lied down to join her in her sprawl, stomach comfortably full. He subtly inhaled deeply, smelling the scent clinging to the jacket and attempted at identifying the perfume. It seemed expensive, floral with an undertone of musk. He brushed his hand against the sequins, once again delighted at the change from black to oil slick. He almost regretted giving the jacket back, but the promise of seeing Molly again was better than a fun jacket.

It was at that moment Caleb almost jumped out of his skin when an unfamiliar, loud text tone buzzed in his pocket. Specifically, Molly’s pocket. Curious, he reached in and pulled out an iPhone. The case was in the style of a tarot card, with glitter suspended in some sort of liquid. He turned the phone over, and the push notification read:

> Yasha <3  
>  CALEB THIS IS MOLLY THE PW IS ‘FUCK’

Caleb stared at the phone before swiping, the large device sitting awkwardly in his hand, entered in the provided “FUCK” and it unlocked with a soft click.

> Me:  
>  Hello this is Caleb. I’m assuming this is your cell phone, Mollymauk?
> 
> Yasha <3  
>  Ya i forgot it in my pocket!!!!! Sorry OTL
> 
> Me: Otl?
> 
> Yasha <3  
>  Its a lil guy slumped over

Caleb tilted his head, trying to make sense of it but seeing nothing other than letters.

They coordinate a meetup, and Caleb’s heart thumped like crazy when a knock way too loud for the hour sounded through the room. Caleb opened the door to Mollymauk, looking sheepish and flanked by two women. 

“Uh- Hallo?”

“Sup,” said the one in a blue tank, nodding in acknowledgement.  
“Hello,” said the woman Caleb had to crane his neck up to look at.

“Sorry for the late hour, darling,” Molly said, letting himself into the room, Nott squawking indignantly.

“Ah, it is no issue. You needed your phone, of course.” 

“Of course! But seeing you again is a nice bonus,” Molly grinned, waving his hand to his companions. “This is Yasha, and the unpleasant looking one is Beau.” The Unpleasant One in questions flicks Molly off, but he looked unaffected by it.

Caleb waved weakly before nodding toward Nott. “ This is-”

“Nott,” she said shortly, staring suspiciously at the three.

“It’s lovely to meet you. Ms. Nott,” Molly said pleasantly, either blissfully unaware or uncaring of the daggers Nott was shooting at him with her glare.

“Ah- sorry, here is your phone and jacket,” Caleb said, both hands outstretched with the items in question. Molly plucked the phone from his hand, slipping it into his pants pocket happily.

Molly winked and joked, “I hope you didn’t look in my camera roll.” 

Caleb blushed thinking about the implication, and Nott griped from the bed, “Caleb would never! He _respects_ people’s property, thank you!” 

Molly once again looked sheepish. “Apologies, that was a lame joke.” 

“He’s got a lot of those,” sniped Beau.

Molly flicked at her with his tail before he smiled pleasantly at Caleb once again, “As for the jacket, like I said before. You can give me it back tomorrow.”

Caleb looked between the jacket and Mollymauk, holding it out once again, confused. “I can see you tomorrow anyway?” 

“Nope!” Molly said. “You’ll see me, but you keep the jacket until then!”

Caleb looked to Beau and Yasha, the two looking annoyed and amused.

“Right… Insurance?” he said slowly.

“Precisely!” Molly said, cheshire grin in place. 

“Oh my _God_ can we go?” Beau groaned.

Molly gave Caleb a shrug of ‘what can you do?’ before waving and exiting with his friends, Yasha smiling at the two of them as she closed the door behind them.

“Those people are fucking _weird_ ,” mumbled Nott, laying back down on the bed.

Caleb smiled, holding Molly’s jacket to his chest and his heart felt warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Scheiße - shit  
> Es tut mir leid - I am sorry  
> Herzchen - little heart
> 
> Oops I thought this would be three chapters but look at me uncharacteristically making this longer. Sorry for the delay! I hoped for this to be posted on Saturday but life uh, finds a way.
> 
> There's a handful of small formatting errors I'll go back and fix tomorrow, but it's getting late and I'm throwing in the towel on getting ao3 to let me fix it. Thank you for the lovely comments, please know I treasure every single one and read them like ten times. And thank you for the kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions you guys are too sweet and I don't deserve you.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first try at messing with the Critical Role universe, especially widomauk. Hopefully I do these dorks justice as I love them dearly.
> 
> Hit me up on twitter @weshouldfondue where I occasionally post about the dumb stuff I'm into. I'm on tumblr with the same name, but who knows if my account will survive the Cleansing.


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